Renewal 10 - Blind Force

by Jf Perkins

  “Pleasure to meet you, Sally. I’m Larry Harris.”

  “Hello, Mr. Harris. I’ve heard good things about you,” Sally replied.

  “Why, that’s nice to hear. What brings ya’ll out this morning?” Larry asked.

  “Bill sent me to check on things, make sure you’re all doing ok,” Terry replied.

  “Oh, yeah. Everyone is fed, happy, and busy. Turns out I have a knack for the machinery. I’m working with Mr. Hall on the reloading,” Larry said.

  “That’s good. It looks like the bad guys are lining up, so it may get even busier,” Terry said.

  “I tell ya, I’m still amazed at what you’ve got going here. I almost feel bad for those bad guys,” Larry said, smiling at the group.

  “I hope you’re right, Larry. We’ll know more by noon.”

  “Ok. Well, things are going fine for us. Tell Bill I said thanks for the hospitality.”

  “Will do. See you later,” Terry said with a wave of his hand.

  “See ya’ll later. Be careful.” Larry was turning back to his tent as Terry and his friends walked away.

  They wandered back across the western barn and piled into the cab of Big Bertha. Terry checked the gauges and noticed that the tanks were full again. The doors were already open with the heavy truck traffic of a community preparing for a fight. Terry slotted Bertha into gear and drove up the hill to the western gate. Once again, the gate guards had the gate open long before Terry drove Bertha through. He pulled onto the access road and accelerated. He never got tired of the sensation of power under his hands.

  Terry took the left turn onto the main road and headed for the highway. As he was making the right turn on Highway 41, Seth pointed across his face and shouted, “Wait! Who are they?”

  Terry looked left and saw a group hiking down the shoulder of 41. It looked like about twenty-five people. Terry ran through several options in his mind and decided to lay on the air horn to alert Teeny Town that unknown people were nearby. He left the truck idling in the middle of the road.

  Seth said, “Do three honks, pause, and three more.”

  Terry did as Seth ordered. It was another situation in which Terry regretted that he had never had any of the regular community training. Terry said,” Seth, why don’t you set up at one of the gun ports in the back? Sally, you can drive if something goes wrong. Be sure to crank all the armor shut, here, here, and up here,” Terry said slapping each of the handles as he spoke.

  “What are you going to do?” Seth asked.

  “I’m gonna talk to them,” Terry replied.

  “Oh, no you’re not!” Sally said.

  “It’ll be fine. Help’s coming in a couple of minutes. We don’t have any idea who they are. This is the easiest way to find out,” Terry said calmly.

  “Ok, but if they shoot you, I’m driving right over your corpse,” Sally said with her cheeks flaring red under the freckles.

  “Fair enough, Sweetie.” Terry opened the door and dropped to the ground.

  Seth circled the other side of the truck and jumped up into the armored cargo box. Terry heard the metallic scrape of a gun port sliding open. He walked a hundred feet away from Big Bertha and raised both his hands in what he thought might be a non-threatening gesture.

  The group approached cautiously. They hadn’t missing the meaning of the horn blasts. The bulk of the people stopped at about the same distance that Terry had chosen, and two in the front kept walking towards him. There was a rangy old man underneath a broad woven straw hat, and the dark skinned woman next to him was wearing a black vest and a faded baseball cap. Terry got the distinct impression that she was the dangerous one of the two, like a feminine version of Kirk. The two strangers stopped eight feet in front of Terry, and the man held up his hand in greeting.

  “Kind of ballsy of you, coming out here by yourself,” the man said.

  “Help’s nearby,” Terry said, watching the pair very closely.

  “Well, we don’t mean any harm. We’re just passing through, looking for someone. He might be around here, according to the directions we got.”

  “You got directions to this place?”

  “Yes, from a family out in Fort Smith, Arkansas by the name of Miller.” the man said, seemingly very relaxed for a man in new territory.

  It clicked for Terry. How lucky for these people that Terry had just heard about a man named Miller. “Joe Miller?”

  “No. Joe was long dead. We talked to his grandchildren. They told us about Joe, and how he always wanted to come back here. They said we should find a man named David Carter. They gave us this map that old Joe had drawn.” The man pulled a crinkled yellow paper from his shirt pocket and handed it to Terry.

  Terry looked at the hand drawn map and saw a reflection of the story Bill had told. Joe Miller’s farm, Sally Bean’s farm, all the roads in the area. Terry looked up at the man, back at the map in disbelief, and at the man once again.

  “Well, I don’t know where you came from, but you found the right place,” Terry said. “I don’t understand. Joe was an old man when he left here. How could he have grandchildren?”

  “His family was adopted, or just gathered as he traveled. He found a good place to settle and just stayed there,” the man replied.

  “Why didn’t you just stay in Fort Smith?” Terry asked.

  “They weren’t taking in new people, not for a long time. One of the Millers chased us down as we were leaving, told us the story, and gave us the map. We camped outside of town for a few days, and ended up hearing from a lot of the Millers before it was over. Nice people,” the man said.

  Terry could see the patrols converging from the west. He turned to the truck and shouted, “It’s ok! Not Dragons!” Sally used the horn to let the patrols know not to come in with guns blazing.

  “My name is Terry Shelton. We’ve got a tense situation right now, but I can get you to David Carter’s family. David has been dead for years, as far as I know. In fact, that’s David’s granddaughter in the truck.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Terry. I’m Ned Stamps, and my friend is Cindy Blaine. Those people back there are our adopted family. We’ve been gathering them for more than two thousand miles.”

  “Wow! Where did you start? Oh, pleasure to meet you both... Sorry.”

  Ned smiled for the first time. “Out on the West Coast. Cindy and I go all the way back.”

  “Well, I can’t wait to hear that story,” Terry said, returning the smile. “It’s only a mile, but I can give you folks a ride if you don’t mind a few sitting up top.”

  “A ride,” Ned said with a distant look. “I can’t even remember the last time I had a ride. Sure, that would be great.”

  Chapter 10 – 7

  Thanks to Terry’s clumsy but rapid arrangements with the patrols, Bill was waiting as Terry pulled the truck onto the grass by the front guard houses. In a form of unit discipline, Ned’s people stayed in and on the truck while Ned and Cindy stepped down to the ground. From his position in the cab of the truck, Terry could see members of the guard moving in on the front houses to cover whatever might occur. Once he was convinced that Bill was safe, Terry killed the ignition and joined the group forming around Bill. Seth followed him while Sally and Suze stayed in the truck.

  Ned was saying, “I’ve heard stories about you, Mr. Carter. It seems like Joe spent a lot of time with you when you were a kid.”

  “That’s true. I didn’t know him for long, but he was there for about ten months of hard work. He was sick at first, but eventually he was right in there with the rest of us,” Bill replied, still looking warily at the two newcomers. “Why don’t you get your people out of the truck? They’re pretty packed in there.”

  Ned gave a simple hand signal and his people were on the ground in seconds. Bill noticed that there was nothing particularly military about the way they stood, but he recognized the speed and competence at a glance. It was nothing less than he would expect from a group who had traveled all the way across America
.

  “So, Ned. I have to admit. I’m pretty anxious to hear how you ended up in Coffee County, of all places,” Bill said.

  Ned was completely aware of the situation just outside the heavy hedge rows around the guard houses. Cindy, being the fighting side of his command, was even more attuned to the movements of Bill’s people. Ned quickly glanced in the appropriate directions just to let Bill know that he was tracking the buildup of force. “Well, as I told Terry, we ran into Joe Miller’s people outside Fort Smith, Arkansas. They had the notion this would be a good place to go since Fort Smith was not allowing immigration,” Ned explained. “But, there’s plenty of time for that story. Terry also mentioned something about a tense situation. I can see that you are being very cautious, and I can respect that. Right now, I don’t have an interest either way, but if I’m walking my people into trouble, maybe we should start with your story.”

  “Fair enough, Ned.” Bill turned and gave instructions to one of the guards. “Call down to Aggie and get some food up here. Twenty-five or thirty people. Tell her she’s needed as well. See if you can round up Tommy or Kirk. Then, get some tables out on the back lawn.” The guard ran into the house, and Bill turned back to Ned. “Let’s head around back. It’s cooler there. We’ll have something to eat and talk it over.”

  “Sounds good. We’ve been eating jerky for days,” Ned replied.

  “Been in that situation, myself,” Bill said with a smile. “Terry, you and Seth carry on. Good job with bringing them in.”

  “Ok, Bill. See you later,” Terry replied. He and Seth climbed back into the truck, intent on their original mission. Terry started the big diesel and eased it back out on the road.

  Fifteen minutes later, after Sally had asked ten thousand questions Terry couldn’t answer, Big Bertha was rumbling past Westwood School again. Faces appeared everywhere from houses and gardens in the neighborhood. By the time Terry drove into Jared’s yard, Mrs. Cooper was standing outside, waving to them from the sagging porch. Several other people were milling around the front door. Terry wondered what was happening at the Cooper house as he shut the truck down. He wasn’t expecting a crowd. “Seth, let’s go. Sally, find some quiet cover until we know what’s going on, please.”

  “Got it,” was Sally’s terse reply.

  Terry was wasting worry. As soon as his boots hit the dusty driveway, Mrs. Cooper walked over to greet him. “Hello, Terry... Seth,” she said, giving the big man a quick smile. “Jared’s working hard for you. He’s been telling the story for a solid day.”

  “I’m just glad his wife let him live,” Terry said, grinning. “It’s good to see you again, Mrs. Cooper.”

  She laughed. “I was kind of proud of him. He finally put his foot down and told her to shut up. He said he had work to do, and they could fight later. He made her go round up the neighbors.” She looked over Terry’s shoulder. “Looks like they have some questions,” she added, indicating the new crowd with a nod.

  Terry looked back and saw at least fifty people filtering into the driveway. Seth followed his glance and said, “Looks like it’s time for another speech.” Seth turned to Mrs. Cooper with a toothy smile. “He’s a sweet talker, this boy.”

  Terry found himself in a mad rush of handshakes and names he would never remember. He took a moment to wave Sally and Suze down from the truck. When they arrived, Terry introduced them around as best he could in the crowd. A number of the men were noticeably staring at the young women, and Terry remembered what Bill had said about having them along. He watched Sally smiling and talking, her copper hair shining in the morning sun, and couldn’t blame anyone for staring.

  The greetings turned into rapid-fire questions, and Terry tried to answer them individually. He was quickly overwhelmed. He held up a finger in the one-minute gesture and strode across the front yard to the porch. He stood on the head of the steps, finding a stable board to use as a speaking stump.

  “Good morning, folks. By now, I expect you’ve heard the story,” he began. Another half dozen people emerged from the house and stepped past him to join the crowd on the yard. He waited until they were settled. “So, I probably don’t need to tell you what’s been happening around here. What I do need to tell you is that the Dragon army is back in Coffee County.” A round of booing and hissing washed over him.

  Terry continued, “They started out in Columbia with three thousand men, who came to help Wyatt Jenkins fight against us. When I say ‘us’, I don’t just mean the four of us.” He indicated his friends with a short arc of his arm. “I mean all of us.” He made a much larger gesture to encompass the entire crowd. “The Dragons and the Jenkins and all of the other families are on the same side for a reason. They are all in the same business, and that business is to live by taking advantage of good people. All of you have done well. I can look around this neighborhood and see that you grow your own food. You live in a back corner of Manchester that keeps you out of sight of the people who want to take what you have made with your own hands. But, I can also see that you are struggling to get clothing to wear, materials to repair your homes, and everything else that makes life easier. I grew up in this town, just like you, and I know why we can’t get those things, just like you. The families have kept a choke hold on all trade. If you can make it or grow it yourselves, you’re doing fine. The minute you need something that someone else makes, you are forced to trade for it. That’s where the families have got you.”

  Terry paused to watch the nods of agreement. “Then they control the work. They are the only ones who have work, and they use that fact to make sure that you make almost nothing for your labor. They say they own everything from the grain silos to the food stands on the square. That’s not technically true, but it’s been that way for so long that it might as well be. And finally, most of you don’t know this, but we have had a functioning state government for years. Not a strong one, but one that actually tries to help each and every one of you. Those bars of soap you have been trading two days of work for, those shirts that cost you a week’s work, those are yours by right from the State, and the families have been stealing them for years. They take them and then sell them back to you for days of your life, all so that they can keep you in control, all so that everything you do makes them richer, while you just barely get by.”

  The crowd was getting angry. Terry kept talking. “So here we are, almost forty years after the Breakdown, living like it just happened. That whole time, one family has been working to change this sorry state of affairs. They have been building against the day when the Jenkinses and the Coxes, the Talleys and Cantners and MacMillans would make a mistake that gives us a chance to take back our lives. As a guy who grew up among you, I can say that I’ve only known about this one special family for a short time, and I know, I know that they are ready to take on the families, to give you back your freedom and your ability to live and work and trade in a fair world. You all know what Bill Carter did to the Jenkins farm. You all know that we stopped the Coxes and Talleys from burning our town. You know we are ready.”

  “There’s a catch. By sheer chance, Bill got involved in a mission for the State. It was good mission, a worthy mission, but it stirred up a big hornet’s nest, and that nest is bigger than the one we have here in Coffee County. Now, the Dragon army is here to help the families, and I can’t say that Bill is ready for that. It’s bad luck to plan for one thing for years and find out you have to fight something worse. So, the hard truth is that we need you. We need your help. You all know what you get if we lose, because you’ve lived with it your entire lives. What you don’t know is what you get if we win. You’ve gotten a taste of it when Charlie Bell came down to give you your state supplies in person, but what does it really mean? It means that you get a fair shot. You and me and Bill Carter and everyone else in this county will have the same rules and the same chance to build a life that actually works in your favor. That’s what’s on the line today. Your lives and the lives of your children.”

 
Terry waited for the people to work through the implications. It took several minutes. These people had lived too long without freedom and opportunity. The fact that they could grasp the concept at all was evidence to Terry that people were actually created to be free. Once he felt the resolve form up in the small crowd, he continued.

  “I’m asking you today. Make up your own minds. If you want to help, pick up any weapons you have and meet me this afternoon at Hickerson Station Elementary. You know where that is?” He saw enough nodding heads to feel comfortable with his spot decision. “Along the way, do whatever you can to convince your friends and neighbors to join you. We’ll gather as a free people and we’ll deny anyone who wants to keep us from our freedom, our happiness, and the best lives we can make for ourselves.”

  Terry stepped down from the porch, signaling the end of the speech. There was a long interval of silence. Terry was ready to accept his failure. He was ready to climb back into Big Bertha with his friends and leave. He would try again, of course, but he honestly didn’t know a better way to say it. If he couldn’t do it here, with these people, with Jared’s word to help, then he couldn’t do it.

  A large man in blackened overalls stepped out of the crowd and faced Terry. From his facial expression, Terry couldn’t tell if the man was preparing to deny him or punch him in the face. The man slowly extended his hand and said, “We’ll be there.”

  Terry shook the proffered hand and said, “Thank you, sir.”

  The crowd broke into cheers. Terry smiled. He knew he had found the right words.

  Chapter 10 – 8

  Wyatt Jenkins was beginning to have serious doubts. As he looked across the remains of the Dragon army scattered haphazardly across the remains of his own family’s farm, Wyatt could see Gary Tucker scuttling from one group to another, trying to rebuild some semblance of order in his ranks. Wyatt grimaced at the sight of the Junior Dragon. The fact was, Wyatt thought Gary was a complete ass. The only reason it was worth putting up with him was the guarantee of overwhelming force in the upcoming battle with Bill Carter. Looking now, overwhelming force was not guaranteed. Hell, it wasn’t even likely.